When the Clock Strikes Midnight
by Rylitah
Summary: Learning that the gorgeous, amazing Smash Academy was actually in fact a school for beings with various disabilities was probably one of the greatest let downs of the century. Perhaps the students weren't as normal as they thought they were. AU.
1. Prologue

_Dear lucky student,_

_You have been chosen to enroll at Smashers Academy, a school for the gifted and special! My name is Master Hand, but you may call me Master; I am the headmaster at Smashers Academy, and I have been watching you closely. You have what it takes to join our school, and exceed in flying colors!_

_We are set into three different groups here at Smashers Academy; First Years, Second Years, and Third Years. You will be placed into a group depending on how long you've been enrolled. Of course, you've just been accepted, so you along with multiple others will be placed in the First Years group._

_While you may interact with members of the other Years, we (as in my brother Crazy and I) do not recommend doing so. They are very busy people, as you can very well imagine, and it would be awful for them to get distracted in their work. If they are on a break, however, feel free to interact with them as you wish. It's good to make friends._

_I hope you have a wonderful time at Smashers Academy! We're a (mostly) friendly group, and you're sure to feel right at home. Enclosed behind this letter is a sheet of paper with a list of supplies you will need for our courses. You are allowed to bring personal items, but I nor will Smashers Academy as a whole will not be held responsible for any lost, damaged, or stolen property._

_Once again, have a wonderful time! We're only trying to make you feel at home._

_Sincerely,_

_Master Hand_

_**- And Crazy Hand!**_

_P.S: Ignore Crazy. He's a bit…well, Crazy._

**OoO**

"Ike! Ike!"

The young adult looked up from his newspaper article as his half-brother ran through the door, waving two envelopes wildly in the air. A large grin was set on his face, which was odd, seeing how the younger male was usually stoic and set on controlling his emotions.

"What is it, Marth?"

Ike closed his newspaper and set it down lightly on the coffee table. He rose from the couch and walked over to Marth, curious about the envelopes he held in his hands.

"We got accepted!" Marth exclaimed excitedly.

"Accepted?" Ike wondered. "Accepted for what? We didn't apply for any new colleges recently, and the most recent one we applied for was a few months ago…which we got a rejection letter for just a few weeks back."

"I'm not sure what it really is, but we were apparently accepted into some kind of Academy," he read over his opened letter once more. "Ah, Smashers Academy. Weird name, but beggars can't be choosers!" Marth thrust the other letter into Ike's hands. "Here's yours."

Ike opened the envelope and read over the letter skeptically. He had never heard of a 'Smashers Academy' in his entire life. The young adult brought out the envelope again and looked at the return address. It was on a street he had never even heard of. How did they expect him to go there when he didn't even know anything about it?

"Sounds fishy," he decided. "I'm not going."

A large crash echoed throughout the small house as Marth dropped all of the items he was planning on bringing.

"Are you _insane_?" Marth asked, completely baffled. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and chance! We've applied for every single college around us, and we've been rejected from every single one. This is our moment! Here we are, thinking about what we're going to do scholar-less for the rest of our lives, and then suddenly, this gift from above finds its way into our mailbox. And you're just going to _ignore_ it?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Ike declared, dropping himself back onto the couch and picking up his newspaper. "I've never even heard of this place, and I've never heard of a 'Smash Street'. What's with this place and smashing? Sounds more like they'd smash our heads in if we go."

"…No." Marth said with resolve, completely forgetting about packing and stomping over to the couch where Ike was currently sitting. "No, no, no, no, no. You are _not_ ruining this for me. For _us._"

"I'm sorry, Marth," Ike said, not sounding very sorry at all. "But have you ever heard of the saying, 'too good to be true'? This is one of those times. Not happening."

"You-! I can't believe this! You're seriously just going to give this up? After all we've been through?"

"Oh, come on, Marth. It's not the end of the world. You're overreacting. Trust me, it's better if we don't go. We don't know a thing about this academy and what kind of people stay there. We're better off just waiting for another college to be built."

"Which will be _never._" Marth countered. "We _do_ know what kind of people are staying there; it said so in the letter," He brought his letter out and shoved it in Ike's face, who pushed the paper away in annoyance. "It said we're grouped into years. Meaning we'll be with all the newcomers as well, who have not a clue on what this whole thing is about. We won't be alone!"

"It's just a scam."

"You said that we would wait for another opportunity the last time we were rejected from a college. You said, and I quote, 'Don't worry, Marth, we'll just wait until another college comes along and accepts us. We'll get in one day, you'll see.' Well, here's the college you were talking about."

"This isn't a college, this is an academy-"

"Does it really make a difference?"

"Yes, it does! We're getting a scholar in the same field, Ike. We'll always be together. Together fore-"

"Yeah, yeah. 'Together forever', I know, I know."

"Then come on. Please? At least give it a shot. For me."

"Don't pull that 'for me' card again; you know I-"

"Please?" Marth tried again. "For me?"

"I-"

"Please?"

"Fine! I'll go to the freaking academy!" Ike threw his hands up in the air. "Are you happy now?"

"Very." Marth smiled as he walked back to his dropped supplies and started packing them in his bag. Out of the corner of his eye, Ike saw the many books his half-brother must have been planning on bringing.

"That's a lot of books."

"So?" Marth turned to give him a look. "I like to read. A lot. Is that a problem?"

"No, no. I'm just saying…that that's a lot of books."

"Whatever. People like you just can't understand the beauty of books. Oh, how I would _kill_ for a lifetime of these things!" Ike sat up in his chair abruptly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you serious?" Marth turned once more and gave him a questioning look. Ike continued. "You're not _really_ going to kill someone over books…are you?"

"Haha, of course not! You're silly," The blue haired youth chuckled a little as he went back to packing his bags with books. As Ike searched the envelope for directions to Smashers Academy, he didn't hear Marth whisper under his breath, "Unless they get in the way of my books and me."

**OoO**

"I can't believe it," a voice said softly to himself. "I actually got invited."

He placed the envelope down carefully, as if trying not to damage it. The young man stared at the letter, believing it would just simply disappear from right under his nose and he would wake up to find that it was all just one cruel dream. He jerked in pain and let out a yelp as he pinched himself harshly. Nope. Not dreaming.

Rubbing the sore area, he let out a sigh of relief and finally allowed himself to relax.

"What's wrong?" He jumped as another person made his presence known. "Are you all right?"

"Just fine," A large smile made its way onto his face as he picked up the letter and showed it to the newcomer. "Look! I got accepted this year!"

"Really?" The red clad male leaped over a desk and snatched the letter out of his younger brother's hands. A few seconds later, he started to smile as well. "That's great, Luigi! Congratulations!" He patted his brother on the head, to which Luigi responded by smacking his hand away.

"Don't do that, Mario," he muttered.

Mario ignored him and started to talk, "Ah, you'll love it there. Master and Crazy are actually really nice; they'll seem…weird, at first, and I won't blame you if you scream when you first see them, because both of them are really just giant floating hands-"

"What?" Luigi looked at his brother, eyebrow raised. "You told me that there were some pretty weird people there, but you never said the headmaster and his brother were giant hands!"

"Really? Well, they are," Mario said quickly before continuing. "Anyway, the people there are pretty nice. When you first get there, you're in the same boat as everyone; not knowing where you are and what to do, but then you'll meet Master and Crazy, and they'll welcome you in with open arms and explain everything. I think Master will like you; you're like that quiet obedient type that does everything people ask without complaints. Like…a pushover."

"I am not a-"

"But don't worry, if anyone bullies you, just tell me and I'll give 'em the fireball sandwich!"

"Please don't."

"I'm actually really excited to go back; it's my Second Year. And it'll be even better now that you're coming along! Oh man, wait until Peach gets word of this-"

"Peach was invited this year, too?"

"Huh? Oh, no. She was invited last year; she'll be a Second Year this year with me."

"…I see."

"Yeah, and- …Are you alright? You seem…depressed, for some reason."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." He smiled softly. "Keep going."

"Well, okay…if you say so." Mario still looked at his younger brother uncertainly. "…Hey. Just remember, you aren't going to be alone. Yeah, Peach and I won't be there to share the whole First Year experience with you, but you won't be the only First Year! I'm sure you'll make tons of friends."

"I hope so. I'm not really likeable, though." Luigi shrugged his shoulders. His red clad brother gasped and made a horrified expression.

"Not likeable? You're very likeable! You just need to work on your confidence issues. And your social skills. Oh, and you also need to go outside more often; you're as pale as a ghost. And maybe you could try to get a girlfriend. That would loosen you up."

"M-Mario!"

"What? I'm just saying," Mario shrugged. "I know you've had your eye on that Daisy girl, but you're going to be gone for almost the entire year. You'd only have three months to spend with her each year, and since you'll be going to Smash Academy for three years…that would be just nine months total with her. You don't even really talk to her much, anyway. I don't think you'll stand a chance, really."

"…Thank you, Mario. That really boosts my self confidence."

"You're welco- Oh, no, no, no! I didn't mean it like _that_, Weegi!"

"Don't call me that-"

"I'm just saying! Just…open up more, okay? Then I'm sure you'll do just fine and make a bunch of friends! Now let's start packing." Mario tossed the letter into the air and leaped back over the table and ran out of the room, leaving Luigi to his thoughts.

"…He never lets me get a single word in."

The Italian sighed and read over the letter once more.

"So Peach was already accepted, huh…"

**OoO**

"So, how exactly are we getting there? I don't know where this Smash Academy even is."

"Just watch, Falco. You'll see."

"I fail to see how standing in the middle of no where will get us to Smash Academy, Fox."

"Just stand there. It'll appear pretty soon."

Falco groaned and tapped his foot, clearly not amused by the idea of waiting for a mysterious transportation vehicle that would whisk him off to who-knew-where for the entire year.

"Cheer up, Falco. It's almost here."

"You said that multiple times," Falco complained. "I'm beginning to think you typed out that letter yourself and you're just leading me on."

"Sorry, buddy," Fox shrugged. "It's legit. Remember how I had to go to Smash Academy all of last year? That should prove to you that I'm not joking around here. We're really going to school."

"Ugh," the avian spat in disgust. "School. Just what I always wanted. And for all I know, you could've taken a year long vacation or something."

"Vacation?" he raised an eyebrow. "Vacation from what? If you haven't noticed, Falco, we're kind of jobless."

"Oh, really? I haven't noticed." Fox rolled his eyes. "So who else is there?"

"Wolf, plus a bunch of other people you don't know. You'll meet 'em this year. And you know, I actually think you'll really like it there. They're pretty patient people and they're decent tutors, so I'm sure even you will pass."

"Whatever-hey!"

Fox leaned to the side and avoided a punch from his avian friend, chuckling as he did so. Oh, Falco just didn't have a sense of humor.

But he wasn't lying when he thought Falco would like the academy. There was hardly anything to dislike. The food was great, the headmaster and his brother were two of the kindest people he ever met, his helpers were patient people who never got irritated at the students who just didn't get it; it was perfect. It was truly an honor to be accepted into an Academy that was truly dedicated to helping a person succeed.

A loud blaring noise caught his attention, and he turned to the direction the noise came from. Falco dropped his bags and covered his nonexistent ears while Fox rolled his eyes; the bird was so overdramatic.

"Ah, here it is."

A train-like machine started to speed towards them. On the front, it had a symbol that appeared to be a white lopsided cross inside of a sphere. Looking towards the windows, Falco noticed a couple of people already inside of the train, sticking their heads out of the windows and waving excitedly to them.

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Not right now, it isn't. Once it goes into the portal, we have to put our body parts back in the train or else whatever limb is still hanging out the window will get severed off and transported to some random dimension."

"…Sounds macabre-wait. Dimension? What portal?"

Fox ignored his friend's questions as the train slowed to a stop and the door opened. A giant white glove squeezed its way out of the train and floated over to the two animals, seemingly smiling…as much as a white latex glove could smile.

"Hello! It's great to see you again, Fox! And you must be Falco! It's great to meet you! I'd love to stay and chat, but we've got anxious people on board and we're running on a tight schedule; we're already behind by about three minutes! Master will kill me if I make him wait any longer, so on the train you go!" He floated behind the two and forcibly pushed them forward.

"It's nice to see you too, Crazy." Fox nodded as he got on the train. Falco was speechless.

The two got on the train without much fuss, and Falco gasped in wonder at the sheer size of the inside.

The walls and floors looked absolutely spotless, the seats were made of the finest material, there wasn't a speck of grime on the windows, and it was just _spacious_ inside.

"Well? What do you think?" Fox asked, chucking his luggage in the top department above his seat.

"I…Well…" Falco was lost for words. He noticed the smug look his friend gave him and he quickly swallowed and shot him a glare.

"It's nice." He shoved his luggage in the top department along with Fox and plopped down in the seat(it was so _soft_), immediately deciding to take a nap.

Hours later, he was awakened by a loud, screeching, yet somewhat familiar voice.

"Welcome aboard the Smash Express!"

Falco shot up from his seat with a start and looked around him; apparently he wasn't the only one woken up by the voice, judging from the moans and complaints of others around him. He noticed that there were a lot more seats filled up; did they already pick up everyone?

"My name is Crazy Hand, but you can all call me Crazy!" the voice continued. "We are currently on our way to Smash Academy, which is the place you will be staying over the course of this next year. I've already had Lucario and Donkey Kong pass out pamphlets, as you can see." Falco looked down at his lap to see a small booklet that certainly was not there before.

"We've already picked up everyone, and we're expected to arrive at Smash Academy in about…five seconds." Confused voices arose from the passengers. "Hold on tightly to the edge of your seats!"

Not even a moment later, the train lurched forward, and Falco quickly stumbled to grip the metal side of his chair. A few of the other passengers weren't so lucky, as a few fell forwards from their seats and hit the ground. The avian winced in sympathy, but did not voice it.

"And…" the voice trailed off, as if trying to create suspense. "We're here! Thanks to the power of technology, we were able to get here much faster than we were able to ten years ago! Wow, that ride took forever…"

"Crazy!" Another voice yelled, somewhat impatiently.

"That's Master Hand," Fox whispered to Falco. "He's the headmaster."

"Oh, right." Crazy sounded sheepish for a moment before continuing.

"Welcome to Smash Academy!"

**OoO**

**A/N: Hello, and welcome to my second Super Smash Brothers fic!**

**I'm sorry if the beginning wasn't as strong as it could be; I had a lot of trouble coming up with this first chapter. I promise everything will pick up in the next few chapters! Really, I have everything planned out for them.**

**Next chapter, we'll introduce everyone attending Smash Academy and start the plot, but I won't give away why they're there. That's for you to figure out as the story progresses.**

**If you were reading my old SSB fic, Mansion Nightmares, please know that it's currently on an indefinite hiatus. I'll pick it up again, but I don't know when that will be. Right now, my top priority is this fic.**

**Thank you for reading, and I would really appreciate it if you would leave a review telling me what you think of this so far!**


	2. Dodici

**A/N: I am so, so, so sorry for the late update. Explanation is on my profile, along with a little bit more info about this story and how I'll be updating it.**

**Hopefully, updates will be much more frequent from here on out!**

** OoO  
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"Nice," Falco commented seeing the front gates of the academy, letting out a low whistle. "This isn't half bad. I could get used to living here."

The ivory gates held complex designed that looked like miniature angels carrying harps. The building itself was huge; Falco assumed that they could fit at least fifty Great Foxes in there…with room for more, possibly.

The academy walls were pure white with not a single stain on them, and multiple thick pillars outlined the regal front doors that were covered in what seemed to be a fine velvet. The grass just outside the front doors were a lush green, and exotic flowers of colors that Falco had never even seen before just decorated the front yard. There was a large water fountain to the side, and there were probably some fish swimming around in it, living the good life.

In short, it looked absolutely stunning.

"Tch," Fox snorted, elbowing his friend. "And you're the one who was skeptical about this from the beginning."

"Hey, hey!" Falco put up his wings in mock surrender. "I can't win everything, you know. I'll give you credit this time."

Before his vulpine friend could retort with a comeback, a low voiced sounded from behind Falco. It was a voice that, honestly, the two were not hoping to hear anytime soon."

"Fox McCloud."

Fox groaned, and turned around. Standing there, looking mighty and smug, was his one rival that he loathed; Wolf O'Donnell.

"Wolf. Pleasure meeting you here…again," the fox added on at the last second. "Ready to get your ass kicked in the finals again?"

"Oh, please," Wolf scoffed, as if the very idea was laughable. "The only reason you passed the finals and beat me last year was because you _sabotaged _me."

"Sabotage?" Fox looked amused. "How, exactly? Enlighten me."

"Oh, you know what you did, mutt. You-"

"ATTENTION! ATTENTION ALL FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD YEARS!" A familiar voice shouted; all passengers on the train looked up to see Crazy Hand waving wildly near the front gates, looking as if he were about to have a seizure at any second. "FOLLOW ME IN TO THE BUILDING! I'LL TAKE THE FIRST YEARS ONCE INSIDE; SECOND AND THIRD YEARS GO TO LUCARIO AND DONKEY KONG RESPECTIVELY! YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE, AS YOU'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE! COME ALONG NOW!"

"Sheesh," Falco muttered, sticking a feathered finger in his seemingly non-existent ears and twisting it. "And I thought Wolf was loud."

"Why, you little-"

Wolf was interrupted, however, by the giant mob of people running towards the now open gates; Crazy Hand had opened them while he was shouting directions.

People from all over were attending this academy, Falco noticed as he quickly maneuvered around the crazy hoard. He saw multiple animal-like beings, like him, but much smaller; there were a lot more humanoid beings as well; and there were also beings that he didn't even know what the heck they resembled.

It would be an interesting cast, for sure.

He felt Fox grab his arm and lead him into the academy itself. The avian gasped at just how _big _the entire placed looked; the outside had nothing on the interior.

There were fanciful candles and chandeliers positioned all along the windows and ceilings; a grand, golden staircase with a lush red carpet going down the middle was stationed in the exact center of the entrance; the windows themselves had beautiful and complex designs of what Falco assumed to be ancient warriors; there were celebratory lights not unlike Christmas lightings hanging down from the walls. Everything just glowed with radiance, and it was all so very welcoming.

Falco never felt more at home.

"This is where I have to leave you," Fox whispered in Falco's ear; the bird quickly whipped his head around to stare at his vulpine friend in confusion. "Wolf and I have to go with Lucario; he's that black and blue jackal thing over there," he pointed to a medium-sized, animal-like creature, who was currently waving his hands in the air and shouting for second years. "You stay with Crazy Hand. He's a bit awkward, but he's really friendly, don't worry. Good luck." And with that, Fox patted his best friend on the back and left to join the rest of the second years.

Falco turned towards the white glove who had been their escort thus far; there seemed to be so many more first years than second or thirds. As a matter of fact, he only saw four people standing by Donkey Kong, who in fact was not actually a donkey, but instead a large ape.

One of them was a tall, dark, and menacing fellow. He had short bright hair that seemed to contrast with the rest of his appearance. The figure wore mostly dark colors, and looked to be an evil lord of some sort. Falco shuddered; he was glad he wouldn't have to make much contact with him.

The second one was a giant turtle like thing; it was large, and had a spiked shell, which Falco knew that most turtles most definitely did not have. This one had bright, orange red hair that seemed to blow out as a flame, and he had orange and green scales all over his body, accompanied by sharp claws. He looked tough.

The third was yet another tall person, but he looked a little more friendlier than the dark and gloomy guy. He had large muscles that easily showed through the tight suit he was wearing; Falco scoffed. Who was this guy trying to show off to? He wore a red helmet with a black visor that covered his eyes, along with a bright yellow scarf. He seemed to be a racer of sorts.

The last one seemed the friendliest of all. It was a large, giant penguin. He wore a regal red robe and some sort of crown on his head, so Falco assumed that the penguin was of royal descent from wherever he came from. Honestly, he just looked like a rip-off of Santa Claus. But still, he looked to be the friendliest of the bunch, and Falco wasn't intimidated by him in the slightest.

(Not that he was intimidated by the others at all. The very thought was laughable!)

He turned to look at the second years; there were a lot more people there than there were in the third years section. Falco didn't bother telling them apart, however; he was too eager to see who his own potential roommate might be. He looked over to his own section; the first years.

There were way too many people in this section, Falco immediately decided.

Before he could get a good look at all of the people in his year, though, the floating latex glove known as Crazy Hand spoke up once more, although at a much softer volume. Perhaps being in such a fanciful place as this effected him in some way? …Nah. Probably not.

"Okay, everyone!" he shouted out. "Please follow your helper to your designated area. We will all be meeting in the auditorium together, but we'll enter in separate doors so that there won't be as much traffic. Come along now, first years!"

Falco smiled; he was going to like this place.

Luigi, on the other hand, wasn't so sure.

Despite his brother's attempts to calm him down while they were on the train, the green-clad plumber was a nervous wreck. He didn't know a single person here! Mario had promised him that he would make some new friends, but Luigi doubted it. Why would anyone want to be friends with him? It wouldn't be worth it.

He sighed. The younger Mario brother had already met up with Peach, who was absolutely ecstatic upon seeing him on the train. She had promised him a tour around the academy sometime, but he was positive that even the princess didn't know where everything was herself.

Looking around, however, he noticed that he wasn't the only one who seemed to be a train wreck upon arrival. He noticed two other people, both much shorter than him, also quivering in fear at the sight of the place.

The first was a young boy, looking to be about nine or ten years old. He had blonde hair that sort of went off to the side and into a cowlick. He wore a casual, orange and white striped shirt and a large pair of shorts. Luigi raised an eyebrow. _If this is an academy, why are there such little children here…?_ Around the blonde haired boy were a few more children looking to be around his age; however, they all seemed much more enthusiastic about being there.

The other was someone who was even smaller than the blonde boy, but seemed to be older. By how much, Luigi wasn't sure. This one seemed extremely out of place, as he was wearing a _space suit _of all things. There was a giant glass helmet around his head with an antenna sticking up out of it, and it glowed a soft red light at the very top. Weird. The green-clad brother wondered what it was for.

Those two were the only ones besides Luigi himself who seemed pretty awkward about the whole ordeal. It was understandable; they were all first years. Luigi even suspected that they may even have similar personalities as himself; if that were the case…could they possibly be…friends…?

"I've got to try," he muttered to himself as he nervously walked up to the small blonde boy. "Mario always said I would never get anywhere if I never spoke up…I think he was joking, but it's still true."

The boy seemed to notice his approach and looked up at him. If it was possible, he seemed to be shaking even harder than before.

"Um, hello," Luigi tried. "Uh…This place is pretty big, huh…?"

…_Yes, Luigi, what a great way to start the conversation_, he berated himself.

The little boy, even if he thought it was a lame way to strike up a conversation, responded anyway, in an equally as shaky voice, "I-I guess… I don't even know what I'm doing here, t-to be honest…But I got an invitation a-and Ness here," he gestured to another boy around his age to his right; the boy in question was currently talking to a pair of twins wearing pink and blue parkas, "Well, he was e-excited, and so he dragged me along, and…" he took a shuddering breath. "H-here I am."

Luigi chuckled nervously. "Well, I'm not really at ease here, either… We're going to the auditorium, right? Do you have any idea what we're going to be doing there?"

"Not a clue," the blonde responded. "I hope we don't have to introduce ourselves, though…I'm not good at meeting new people and making friends…"

"Oh, well… If you want, I can be your friend…?" Luigi tried, but it came out more as a question than a statement. He mentally smacked himself.

The boy seemed to brighten up, however. "R-really? I would definitely like to be your friend! I'm already best friends with Ness and the Ice Climbers," Luigi guessed those were the twins, "but they're too hyper and they have too much energy…I can't keep up. So…yes! Will you be my friend?"

"Of course!" Luigi laughed inwardly, and it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He did it! He made a friend! On his own! Without his brother there! He felt as if he were on top of the world. Granted, it was a relatively small thing to be so happy about, but the green-clad plumber honestly didn't care. He held out his hand for the boy to shake. "My name is Luigi. What's yours?"

"L-Lucas," Lucas responded. "It's nice to meet your, Luigi."

"Likewise."

Before they could get another word in the conversation, the crowd of first years finally started moving along, nearly shoving Lucas and Luigi into the people walking in front of them. With mumbled apologies they tried to stick together and not get lost in the huge building; getting lost would certainly not be such a hard feat.

Eventually, they entered a large door and found themselves inside of the auditorium. Many, many soft and cushiony seats filled up the entire room, and the stage up front was certainly a masterpiece. The thick scarlet curtains were currently pulled to the side, and all the lights in the auditorium were off except for one lone spotlight which focused on the middle of the stage, on a small wooden podium.

Crazy Hand was busy ushering the first years into seats, yelling "Sit anywhere! Anywhere!" as he did so.

Luigi ended up sitting next to Lucas, and a quick survey around the auditorium proved that the other shy person, the odd-looking one in the space suit, was sitting just a few seats in front of him. He wasn't very hard to find; the red light shining from the top of his antenna gave away his position instantly. He must not be very good at hide and seek.

"Is everyone seated? Good!" Crazy Hand said without even bothering to look for anyone left standing. He looked around the rest of the auditorium for Lucario's group of second years and Donkey Kong's group of third years to make sure they were all sitting. After that, he floated up to the stage and went behind the wooden podium.

"WELCOME TO SMASH ACADEMY!" he shouted. This was followed by a very loud roar of approval from the returning second and third years. The first years merely looked around and meekly muttered, "whoo". "GUESS WHAT, GUYS?" the second and third years screamed,

"WHAT IS IT, CRAZY HAND?"

"I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE THE SPEECH THIS YEAR!" the hand cackled and twitched oddly, then immediately sped off the stage like a bullet. The auditorium was eerily silent until another hand appeared; the first years didn't know if this was still Crazy, or the Master they had heard so much about.

"Welcome, students." the hand spoke in a much deeper voice, with much authority. This…was obviously the fabled Master Hand. "I hope you are excited for another year of learning."

The third years yelled, "BOOO!", but were all laughing as they did so. Well, except for the dark and gloomy guy. Falco shuddered.

"Yes, well, I am Master Hand. I am the headmaster of this academy, as you all know, and I want to wish you all a safe and happy year, without any incidents. In our twenty years of business, we have been very peaceful and successful, and we hope to keep it that way. You all have a copy of the rule book in your dorm rooms, which have already been chosen for you.

"Speaking of dorms, here is how that will work. Just outside this auditorium is a piece of paper, with all of your names and room numbers on them. The dorms are either male only, or female only. No mixed genders." The third years shouted their boos of protest. Master Hand ignored them. "Your roommate will be someone in your year, so third years will be together, second years together, and so on. Hopefully, your roommate will be someone you have never met before, so that you can make new friends.

"Now, as for classes, those are also located in your dorm room. Simply look for a piece of paper with your name on it, and it will have your schedule for the entire year. If you would like to partake in private tutoring with either me or my helpers, or if you have any issues with your current schedule for whatever reason, then please come and see me in my office. Crazy Hand will not be available for tutoring, for…obvious reasons.

"If you are ever in a failing position, we will do our best to bring you out of it. You will not be penalized for bad grades. Do not take this as an invitation to do horribly on purpose, as if we find out that this is the case, you will be expelled immediately. We may be a very generous academy, but even we have our standards.

"And…I believe that is it! If you have any questions or comments, please come and see me whenever you like. I hope you have a good year…Smashers." And with that, the floating hand moved off the stage, and all the lights came on.

"Wow, short assembly," Lucas muttered. Luigi nodded in agreement.

"Well, should we go and see who we're being paired with?"

"Of course!"

The two new friends got up and followed the mob of people already leaving outside of the auditorium doors and to the wall where the paper was posted.

"Gee, can't Master Hand just get a bigger paper or something? I know he has the money to!" The racer-looking guy Falco noticed earlier complained.

"Aw, don't worry, Falcon," the turtle said. "You can only be paired with me, Ganon, or Dedede, anyway."

"Yeah, but still," Falcon groaned. "This sucks."

"Um! I'm with a Jigglypuff?" One of the twins asked. Luigi noticed it was the one wearing the pink parka. _Ah, so the one wearing the blue parka is male, huh…?_ he guessed.

"Jiggly!"

A round, puffball like…thing floated up to the girl and into her arms. The girl gasped and let out a small giggle.

"Aw, you're so cute!" she squealed, hugging the balloon-like creature tightly. "I won't mind having you as a partner!"

Eventually, the large crowed dispersed, and the duo of Lucas and Luigi were finally able to see the list.

**SMASHERS ROOM LIST**

**(Class of 2XXX - 2XXX)**

**YEAR ONE**

**Popo | Roy (103)**

**Marth | Luigi (105)**

**Falco | Pichu (107)Kirby | Diddy Kong (109)**

**Ness | Sonic (111)**

**Lucas | Olimar (112)**

**Ike | Red (115)**

**Nana | Jigglypuff (102)**

**Toon Link | Game and Watch (113)**

**YEAR TWO**

**Link | Snake (201)**

**Yoshi | Wolf (203)**

**Wario | Meta Knight (202)**

**Mario | Pikachu (204)**

**Fox | Pit (207)**

**Zelda | Peach (206)**

**Samus | Mewtwo (205)**

**YEAR THREE**

**Falcon | Dedede (325)**

**Bowser | Ganondorf (326)**

"Um…" Luigi muttered nervously. "Who is Marth?"

"That would be me!" a voice said from behind him. Both Luigi and Lucas turned around to see a blue-haired man walking towards them. "I take it you're Luigi?"

"Y-yes…"

"Awesome. I hope we become great friends!" the green-clad plumber smiled nervously.

"Yeah, I…I hope so, too."

Lucas smiled at Luigi. "It's great that you found your partner so easily, Luigi! I wonder where mine is…I'm not sure…Who's Olimar?"

A light tap on the blonde boy's shoulder caught his attention, and he whirled around to see who had wanted to speak to him.

Luigi instantly recognized it as the odd space man from before.

"Hello," Olimar spoke in a quiet voice, that the two could barely hear him. "Are you Lucas…?"

"Y-yes…" Lucas started to turn back into his shy self in front of the newcomer. "So, you're my roommate?"

"I suppose so…" Olimar looked around nervously before offering a small smile. "It is nice to meet you."

"Ah, yeah…! You too, Olimar." Lucas held out his hand, which Olimar softly accepted. "Well, I guess we'll be seeing you, Luigi. I hope we have some classes together."

"Me too! See you later, Lucas!"

"Bye!"

Luigi turned, ready to pick up his suitcase when he saw that it wasn't there. Nearly panicking, he searched the area before looking up to see his brother grinning at him in an 'I-told-you-so' kind of way.

"Um…hello, Mario."

"Hey, Luigi. So, who's your new friend?"

"Oh, that's Lucas. He's really nice."

"Yeah… I told you that you could make friends if you really tried!" Mario pulled Luigi's suitcase out of nowhere and thrust it into his brother's arms. "All it takes is a little motivation, and you're good!"

"Thanks…"

"Mmhm. Now, about that girlfriend problem of yours…"

"Mario!"

** OoO**

**A/N: I hope you're happy about the semi-long update! It's a bit longer than the first chapter, and next chapter, we finally get to dive into the plot of the story, so fasten your seatbelts! Ahaha. But really, this story will be like a roller coaster, in which the characters have their ups and downs, and loop-de-loops. **** I want to make those emotions feel as real as possible when they come up, so I need your opinions on how I'm doing. I hope I'm doing well. o3o  
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**Reviews are appreciated, so please drop one by before you head off to read the next amazing story. c:**


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